Friday 26th July

Friday, 26 July 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset Olympic Rower, Helen Glover, will be carrying the Team GB flag, together with diver Tom Daley, at this evening's opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Work has been completed building a new mental health ward in Yeovil. Martock Library is reducing its opening hours after losing funding from the Parish Council...and more.

Somerset Olympic Rower, Helen Glover, will be carrying the Team GB flag, together with diver Tom Daley, at this evening's opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Helen competes in her fourth Olympics and says leading Team GB at the opening event will be a proud moment.

Work has been completed building a new mental health ward in Yeovil. Patients under treatment at St Andrews in Wells will now be transferred to the new unit on Preston Road. Despite strong objections, NHS Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group voted to close the mental health ward at St Andrews in Wells and relocate all patients to Yeovil.

Wildlife charities in Somerset are struggling to keep up with high demand due to an increase in domestic animal cruelty cases. According to the RSPCA, animal cruelty is rising more quickly in Somerset than in other parts of the country.

Martock Library is reducing its opening hours after losing its funding from the Parish Council. Martock Parish Council had been giving the library £5,000 a year to help operate its normal opening hours but has now removed the funding. The library will open on Tuesday and Saturday from 9:30 am until 1 pm and Wednesday from 1:30 pm to 5 pm. On Monday and Friday, it will be open between 9:30 am and 5 pm but will stay closed on Thursday and Sunday.

Two local men, who’ve raised over £750,000 for military charities, have been presented with a top award. Benn Laidler and Steve Shaw of Torque Events were given the Sir James Gildea Global Award at the annual meeting of the armed forces charity, SSAFA. Their latest fund-raising event, Driving Force for SSAFA, starts on July 30th, with fifty vehicles taking part in a 10-day driving challenge to Gibraltar.

A school lollipop lady in Milborne Port has retired after 30 years doing the job. Cora Pinkawa, who’s 85, received a thank-you gift on the last day of term at Milborne Port Primary School to make her retirement.

A picture framing business in Martock has been named the Best Family-Owned Art Gallery in the South of England. Martock Gallery on Water Street was named in the SME News UK Enterprise Awards.

More from News

Friday 13th March

The first of the new medium lift helicopters being built by Leonardo in Yeovil for the RAF will be delivered in 2031. Somerset Council has launched a public consultation on planned new charges at its two hundred public car parks. More women in Somerset are said to be taking up walking football... and more
Thursday 12th March

A Yeovil headteacher says he’s concerned about plans to stop giving school holiday food vouchers to families on low incomes. The owner of Yeovil Town is calling on fans to be patient as he continues his overhaul of the National League side. A high voltage fault is being blamed for plunging 1700 homes into darkness in the Ilminster area... and more
Wednesday 11th March

Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more
Tuesday 10th March

Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more
Monday 9th March

Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more
Friday 6th March

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more
Thursday 5th March

Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more
Wednesday 4th March

A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more